222: Just now, I, Chu, was reckless and failed to recognize your greatness, and I have offended you greatly!

Chu Shixiong snapped out of his daze, his face filled with astonishment. "Son, what did you say? You really feel something in your body?"

Chu Niubi nodded vigorously.

"Dad! It's true! I'm not acting! I can feel it now! That heat... it's moving on its own!"

Chu Shixiong's breathing suddenly became rapid.

In his understanding...

No!

In the consensus of the entire Yanqing aristocratic circle, his son, Chu Niubi, was an absolute "martial arts waste"!

His bones and muscles were blocked, his meridians were sluggish, and he was completely insulated from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

This was why Old Master Chu had swallowed his pride years ago, taking Chu Niubi across the length and breadth of the country to beg for help, only to be met with the same conclusion: "This child has no destiny with martial arts."

The Chu family accepted it.

Chu Shixiong accepted it too.

That was why he turned a blind eye to Chu Niubi's later playboy antics.

Since there was no hope in martial arts, the family business would eventually be handed over to professional managers anyway; as long as his son was happy, it was fine.

But now...

This son, who had been given a "death sentence" by countless authorities, had actually—after being whipped for half an hour by a young man in his early twenties right under his nose...

Said he "felt something"?

This was even more absurd than being told the sun would rise from the west tomorrow morning!

"Are... are you sure?" Chu Shixiong's voice was a bit dry. "You're not just confused from the pain? It's not psychological?"

"I'm sure! Dad! It's absolutely true!"

Chu Niubi twisted his body excitedly. "If you don't believe me, let me down first, and I'll jump around a few times to show you!"

Chu Shixiong's heart leaped, and he immediately gave the order.

"What are you all standing around for?"

"Untie him! Quickly untie the Young Master!!!"

"Yes, Patriarch!" Two guards rushed forward in a flurry, quickly untying the blood-soaked hemp ropes from Chu Niubi's body.

The moment the ropes were loosened...

Chu Niubi's legs went weak, and he was about to collapse to the ground.

But he suddenly gritted his teeth and actually supported himself against the wooden post with his hands, standing unsteadily!

Even though his whole body was trembling!

Even though his face was as pale as paper!

Even though those whip marks were still oozing beads of blood!

He really stood up on his own!

Just a few minutes ago, he was wailing while tied to the pillar like a pile of limp mud!

Chu Shixiong's pupils constricted as he lunged forward, grabbing Chu Niubi's wrist.

He placed his fingers on the pulse point.

The thick true qi of the Late Profound Realm seeped into Chu Niubi's meridians.

The next second.

Chu Shixiong was stunned!

Because within his son's body, a strand of qi had truly been born.

Moreover, that strand of qi seemed alive, circulating through Chu Niubi's limbs and bones at every moment, slowly growing stronger.

Though the process was slow and the changes minute...

It was real!

"This... how is this possible?!"

Chu Shixiong looked up sharply, his face filled with disbelief.

He had cultivated for decades and seen countless internal energy techniques, and the Chu family had several secret body-tempering methods of their own.

But he had never seen such a bizarre path!

It didn't cultivate the energy center, didn't gather in the sea of qi, and didn't follow the Ren and Du meridians.

Instead, it used external force to ravage the physical body, stimulating repair mechanisms to forcibly awaken the body's potential on the brink of intense pain and collapse!

But it actually worked!

It worked for his son, who had been judged a waste!

Chu Shixiong let go and suddenly looked at Ye Chen.

Immediately after.

He stepped forward twice, cupped his fists, and bowed deeply!

"Mr. Ye!"

"Just now I was reckless and failed to recognize your greatness; please forgive my offense!"

"That my son could receive such painstaking guidance from Mr. Ye and set foot on the path of cultivation is a tremendous blessing for the Chu family!"

"I... thank you here!"

Seeing this, the twenty black-clad guards behind him looked at each other and then bowed their heads in unison.

Ye Chen waved his hand.

"You're too kind."

"Since I've taken him on, I will naturally teach him using my methods."

"It's just that this method..."

He paused, glancing at the still-grinning Chu Niubi, "is a bit hard on the disciple."

Chu Niubi: "..."

Chu Shixiong straightened up; hearing this, he wasn't annoyed but instead laughed heartily.

"This boy is thick-skinned and tough. He just hadn't found the right path before, and it was all wasted!"

"Mr. Ye, please use him as you wish! Use him to death if you have to!"

"Whatever medicinal herbs, equipment, or venues you need..."

"Just say the word!"

"The Chu family may not have much else, but we have plenty of resources!"

"Even if you want to pull out dragon tendons or strip tiger bones for his bath, I, Chu Shixiong, will definitely get them for you!"

Chu Niubi's face turned green listening from the side: "Dad! A tiger bone bath? Wouldn't that dissolve me?"

Chu Shixiong glared at him: "Dissolve what? If Mr. Ye tells you to soak, you soak! Stop talking nonsense!"

Ye Chen looked at the comical father and son and shook his head helplessly.

"I will make a list of the medicinal herbs."

"Also, he cannot practice any more today."

"Take him back. Don't let the wounds touch water, and apply the ointment I prescribe externally three times a day."

"Furthermore..."

"I will be leaving tomorrow morning. You can choose to stay here, and I will give you a cultivation plan."

"Or you can choose to go back with me."

As soon as Ye Chen finished speaking...

Without even thinking, Chu Niubi immediately shouted: "Master! I want to go back with you! Wherever you go, I go!"

Was he kidding?

If he really stayed here, he definitely wouldn't make it.

For one thing, no one in the entire Chu family would dare to whip him as hard as his Master did.

For another, without his Master's personal supervision, he was worried he wouldn't cultivate properly.

Therefore...

He had to follow Ye Chen without a second thought!

Ye Chen nodded and didn't refuse.

Seeing this, the heavy stone in Chu Shixiong's heart fell away, and the smile on his face grew even brighter as he hurriedly invited him.

"Mr. Ye, it is my son's good fortune to be able to follow you!"

"You must allow me to fulfill my duty as a host tonight by hosting a banquet at my humble abode to express my gratitude!"

Ye Chen thought for a moment and was about to agree...

Suddenly.

"Buzz... buzz..."

The phone in his pocket vibrated without warning.

Ye Chen frowned slightly.

Who would be calling at this time?

He thought of Bing Lan and Yi Yue.

As it turned out...

He took out his phone, and the screen lit up, but it was Bai Wanqing—the person least likely to call.

Wasn't Bai Wanqing in the villa holding a video conference?

If something was wrong, she could just come out and say it; why the specific phone call?

He was very confused but answered anyway.

"Wanqing? What's wrong?"

On the other end of the line, the voice that came through was not Bai Wanqing's, but a low male voice.

"Ye Chen."

"If you don't want the beauty inside to lose her life..."

"Then come in, alone."

"Remember, alone."

"Otherwise, I will immediately snap her beautiful neck."

"Beep—beep—beep—"

The words finished, and the call was disconnected, leaving only a busy signal.

Ye Chen's expression instantly darkened.

A sudden chill rose in his eyes!

Right under his nose, Bai Wanqing...

Had been kidnapped?

Who could have sneaked in so silently?

Ye Chen didn't hesitate for a moment, not even turning back to explain, and strode toward the main entrance of the villa.

At the same time.

He dropped a sentence.

"No one is allowed to enter the house without my permission."

Chu Niubi looked bewildered: "Master! What's wrong? What happened?"

He was about to follow when Chu Shixiong pressed him down with quick reflexes.

He had heard everything when Ye Chen answered the phone just now.

Chu Shixiong made a prompt decision and shouted to everyone.

"Everyone listen up!"

"Immediately mobilize all standby personnel of the Chu family guard team!"

"With this villa as the center, a radius of three hundred meters—no, five hundred meters! Surround it for me!"

"Without my command, no one is allowed to approach the villa, let alone step foot inside!"

"Pay attention to the air as well! Start drone reconnaissance! Prevent anyone from attacking from the roof!"

He paused, a cold light flickering in his eyes.

"Also, contact the family Enshrinement Hall and ask two elders of the Late Profound Realm to come immediately to oversee the situation!"

"Quickly!"

"Yes, Patriarch!" The leader of the black-clad guards straightened up and immediately took out his walkie-talkie to start barking orders.

...

Inside the villa.

Ye Chen pushed open the door and stepped into the foyer.

The main lights in the living room were not on; only a few wall lamps emitted a dim yellow glow.

The curtains were tightly closed, shutting out the afternoon sun and making the interior quite dark.

A very faint, indistinct sweet and metallic scent permeated the air.

It wasn't the smell of blood.

It was knockout incense.

Ye Chen's gaze grew a few degrees colder.

He stopped in the hall and said calmly, "I'm in. Show yourself!"

The moment his voice fell...

In the shadows of the second-floor stairwell corner, a figure emerged silently, as if peeling away from the darkness.

The person was entirely shrouded in a large black robe, with a hood covering their face, leaving nothing visible inside.

He stood there like a ghost blending into the background, his aura ethereal and uncertain.

Ye Chen looked up and asked calmly, "Is she okay?"

A low, raspy laugh came from under the black robe.

"Jie jie jie..."

"Don't worry, she has only succumbed to my Soul-Soothe Incense. I will take her back later to refine her into a human puppet."

"As for you..."

"You will soon become a corpse."